Neville Walker had a pair of Jays feeding on some peanuts; these were then joined by a second pair.  Neville was surprised to see that number of Jays together.  During the breeding season pairs of Jays are very territorial but they are not tolerated by their cousins the Magpies who will quickly see them off.  Jays are said to be the forester's friend as they store acorns for the winter like squirrels burying them in soft ground.  Unlike Squirrels they often carry the acorns much further away from the tree and they also do not bite the embryo to stop it growing like the Squirrel.  The Squirrel gives the acorn a nip to try and stop the embryo developing and using up the food store, though it's not always successful.
Beryl Whiteside reported two Grey Wagtails on the roofs of nearby houses.  They usually fly off in the direction of the Shalford Road allotments.  Beryl also watched with 'great excitement' a Grey Heron land in the next door garden where it quickly speared a large Koi carp from the garden pond.  It tried to take off and eventually managed to get onto the roof of a single storey building from where it became airborne.  I imagine the neighbour was not exited about the spectacle.  At this time of the year I usually get several calls from residents that have had all their ornamental fish stolen not realising the thief was a Heron.  I think most of these birds are juveniles as the adults are very wary and the slightest movement and they are gone.  They also kill very large fish and if they cannot be swallowed leave them on the bank.  This year we found an 8lb Crucian Carp by the side of our pond.  A juvenile Heron had been visiting the garden for some days previously.  Beryl also watched a Sparrow Hawk devour a Pigeon or Collared Dove in her neighbour's garden and has a Great Spotted Woodpecker visiting her nuts.

Debbie Lyons, Elm Walk also watched a Sparrow Hawk devour a Collared Dove in her garden.  One should remember it is not just doves and pigeons that are eaten by the hawks but also the smaller birds.  The hawk is unable to carry the larger prey away so it has to stay and eat it where it makes the kill.  Smaller prey is nearly always taken to somewhere secluded where it can be plucked and eaten at leisure.  It always surprises me that a Sparrow Hawk can eat a Pigeon that probably weighs nearly as much as itself in about 20 minutes and then fly off leaving just the leg bones, wing tips and feathers.
Carolyn Sheldrake, The Street, sent me a picture of an adult male Sparrow Hawk.  Carolyn said the bird was quite small and was sitting in a large hedge where a resident flock of House Sparrows congregate.  The species got its name for a very good reason also the female is considerably larger than the male.  Carolyn has also had visits from the Grey Wagtail to her pond water-fall and also has regular visits from a large flock of Long Tailed tits passing through the garden.

Phil Monk saw a male Blackcap in their garden, a smart looking bird.
Andy Goodey, The Street, saw a late Swallow during the first week of November and flying over parties of Siskins and Redpolls.  He also found a small flock of Siskins feeding in the alders at Rookery ponds.  Andy has yet to see any Bramblings this autumn.
Ken Turner saw nine hares together on the field below the old orchard of Procession House Farm just to the north of Pods Brook.  Ken also said there was a flock of 30 Goldfinches on the conservation area to the south of Pods Brook.
Pauline Turner reported two Goldcrests in their Shalford Road garden.  These diminutive birds now appear to be well established in the Parish and the warmer winters must certainly be helping their survival.

Last month I wrote about the Badger digging in our garden.  This has now reached epidemic proportions and there must be several hundred excavations round the garden that I try and keep filled in daily.  A resident who was also suffering from a similar over zealous gardener recently telephoned and asked how they could deter the badgers from their garden, there is no legal way of doing so and I'm not allowed to write about some of the ideas I have heard of except to say they usually involve strong smelling substances sprayed round the garden.  Most of these would also deter humans from using the garden.  Another call for help was from someone with a mole problem, I always enjoy seeing the hills appear in someone else's garden but this year they have also decided to visit our garden as well.  My appreciation of the garden wildlife is rapidly diminishing.

Besides the holes the Badger has dug looking for worms they also dig latrines and these are always worth an inspection as one can see what they have been eating.  When on a worm diet the droppings are black and homogenous, when the plums are sweet they are full of plum stones and they then move onto the sweet apples.  This year our visitor has started eating the Crispin which at this time of the year is a hard green apple. This diet is not suiting the Badgers digestion as the apples and skin appear to pass straight through the Badger with little alteration.  I will not describe what else one finds in their droppings but it does suggest they will eat almost anything including carrion.

Several residents have said they have not heard so many owls calling in recent years.  In the last few weeks there have been several Tawny Owls calling well past midnight.
I was sent a message by camera phone but cannot reply nor access the message if the person could phone or email me please.

Roger Jiggins Tel. 01376 324 311, email mailto:r.jiggins@btconnect.com  (please put Wildlife as the subject)